My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

"Have you all forgotten the Battle of Guandu? Yuan Shao's grain supplies at Wuchao were burned, and his situation was in dire straits. Zhang He, assessing the situation, saw that Yuan Shao's defeat was inevitable and did not hesitate to surrender to Cao Cao."

"This shows what?"

"In my opinion, this is enough to show that Zhang He was by no means the kind of loyal and righteous man who was willing to die for his principles."

"Now that times have changed, the State of Wei has fallen into a dead end. Anyone with eyes can see that its destruction is an irreversible trend."

"Given this precarious and collapsing situation, what's so impossible about Zhang He finding a way to survive?"

"Most people, if they were in his position, would probably make the same choice."

Xiao He smiled coldly and explained the basis for his judgment in detail.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood.

Guan Yu stroked his magnificent beard, nodded slightly, and his eyes revealed his approval:
"Bowen is absolutely right. In that case, there is indeed a possibility that Zhang He could be persuaded to surrender."

"This man commands a large army and enjoys considerable prestige within the Wei army. If he is willing to surrender to our Han Dynasty and cooperate with us from within, allowing our army to enter the city, then taking Chang'an will be as easy as taking candy from a bag!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Without further hesitation, Xiao He immediately spread out paper, ground ink, and wrote a letter.

He then sent his trusted men under cover of night to sneak into Chang'an to meet Zhang He.

...

Three days later, in a secret room inside the General of the Cavalry's mansion in Chang'an.

The dim yellow light flickered on the wall, illuminating Zhang He's solemn face.

Zhang He stood motionless like a stone statue, his complex gaze fixed on the letter in his hand.

His brows furrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth twitched occasionally, revealing his inner turmoil and struggle.

That letter was handwritten by Xiao He, the Grand Marshal of the Han Dynasty.

The letter was concise and to the point, without much embellishment or preamble. It directly persuaded Zhang He to betray Wei and join Han, to cooperate with Han from within and without, to recapture Chang'an and make amends for his previous mistakes.

In his letter, Xiao He analyzed the current situation in detail, pointing out that the destruction of the Wei Kingdom was only a matter of time, and that if Zhang He continued to be stubborn and die with the Wei Kingdom, it would be a great loss.

He also mentioned that the Emperor of Han was benevolent and magnanimous, and was willing to give Zhang He a chance to reform himself, as long as he could surrender.

However, in this letter, Xiao He did not offer any tempting promises, nor did he make any generous commitments such as high-ranking official positions, titles, or appointments to high positions, in order to entice Zhang He to surrender.

He merely promised that he would consider Zhang He's return to Han as atonement for his past mistakes, and would petition the emperor to grant him a life of wealth and security after the matter was settled, allowing him to enjoy his later years in peace.

To put it bluntly, it's telling Zhang He that we won't pursue his past crimes, but we also won't give him a high position or generous salary. We'll only allow him to live a comfortable and leisurely life as a wealthy man, so that he can die peacefully in his old age and spend the rest of his life in peace.

This was undoubtedly a huge setback for Zhang He, who had once held a high position.

“My father is now a General of the Cavalry in our Great Wei, but if he surrenders to the Han Kingdom, he will only be a rich old man with nothing to do!”

The eldest son, Zhang Xiong, stood to the side, his face full of indignation:
"Xiao He's offer of surrender is utterly insincere. At the very least, he should have promised Father a position among the Three Dukes and the enjoyment of unparalleled honor. Otherwise, why would Father betray Wei and join Han to help them conquer Chang'an?"

“This is a bad deal at all, Father, you must consider it carefully!” Upon hearing his son’s words, Zhang He silently and respectfully put down Xiao He’s letter, and then quietly instructed his son to bring him pen and ink.

Zhang Xiong became alert, vaguely sensing that his father seemed to be about to make some important decision, but he didn't want to ask too many questions, so he could only do as his father asked and bring him the pen and ink and place them in front of his father.

Zhang He slowly picked up his pen, pondered for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly, as if he were weighing something repeatedly in his mind.

After a long time.

He took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, his eyes became firm, and in an instant he wrote a letter on the paper.

"Quickly give this letter from your father to the Han envoy and ask him to forward it to Grand Marshal Xiao."

Zhang He handed the completed letter to his son and said calmly.

With a heart full of trepidation, Zhang Xiong took the letter, glanced at it briefly, and his expression changed drastically in horror.

His hands trembled slightly involuntarily, as if the letter in his hands weighed a ton.

It was actually a letter of surrender!
In his letter, Zhang He not only clearly expressed his determination to return to the Han Dynasty, but also deeply reflected on his past sins and expressed his gratitude to Xiao He for giving him this opportunity to make amends.

In his letter, Zhang He promised to do his utmost to cooperate with the Han army from within and without to help the Han Dynasty recapture Chang'an, in order to atone for his past sins.

"Father, have you thought this through?"

Holding the letter in his hand, Zhang Xiong, his face full of confusion, questioned Zhang He:
"Xiao He did not promise to promote my father to a noble title or ennoble him; he only promised my father a wealthy and peaceful end. This is hardly a surrender offer; it is clearly a threat and inducement to force my father to submit."

"Such a lack of sincerity and such contempt for Father, yet Father still wants to demote him?"

"Father, you mustn't act impulsively! This concerns the future of our Zhang family!"

"Alas, Xiong'er, though you are my son, you do not understand your father as well as Xiao He does..."

Faced with his son's emotional questioning, Zhang He shook his head helplessly and let out a disappointed sigh.

Then, he slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the sky outside.

Zhang Xiong was taken aback, looking at his father with a face full of doubt, not understanding the deeper meaning in his father's words.

"Do you really think that, given the current situation, your father would still covet any high-ranking official position or generous salary?"

Zhang He turned to look at his son's bewildered expression and slowly said:
"Now the Han army has besieged Chang'an, and the emperor has been misled by Sima Yi. He refuses to give up Chang'an even at the cost of his life and has retreated west to Longxi. Anyone with eyes can see that the fall of Chang'an is only a matter of time."

"Even the destruction of the Wei Kingdom is imminent, and no one can reverse this irreversible trend."

"If I do not die on the battlefield by then, I will become a prisoner of the Han Dynasty as a subject of a fallen nation, and suffer endless humiliation."

"If that's the case, why should I, as your father, still insist on being loyal to the Cao family to the death, and be an enemy of the Han emperor, only to end up with a tragic fate of being buried with the Wei state?"

"This is not because I am afraid of death, but to protect the lives of my entire Zhang family, and to leave a way out for the Zhang family!"

This was the first time Zhang He had so frankly revealed his true feelings to his son. After speaking, a hint of relief flashed in his eyes, and he asked in return:
"Now that the Grand Marshal of Han has taken the initiative to persuade you to surrender, giving you a chance to save your life and preserve the Zhang family, tell me, what reason do I have not to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" (End of Chapter)